Wireless communications services within a cellular network are provided through individual geographic areas or “cells.” Historically, a cell has generally included a cellular tower, having RF antennas that communicate with a plurality of remote devices, such as cellular phones and paging devices, and a base terminal station (BTS). The BTS is linked with other facilities of a service provider, such as a switching office, for handling and processing the wireless communication traffic. The BTS may be coupled to the switching office through land lines, or alternatively, the signals may be transmitted or backhauled through microwave backhaul antennas, also located on the tower. Generally, each of the different wireless service providers, such as AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and others, would have and maintain their own cell sites, each with a tower, RF and microwave backhaul antennas, and BTS equipment.
Recently, the acquisition of land for cell sites has become more difficult due to increased resistance from communities that are starting to vigorously protest the location of such towers in their areas due to the unsightly addition to the landscape. This is particularly so in densely populated areas where more cell sites might be needed or coverage is desired by numerous service providers.
In light of the difficulty in obtaining land and the costs to each service provider to build and maintain a cell site, many service providers have begun sharing sites and the towers located thereon. In addition, many shared cell sites are often owned by third-party companies who are driven to operate the sites as efficiently and profitably as possible.
Despite sharing a common tower, however, each service provider still typically relies upon separate RF and microwave backhaul antennas and BTS electronics. The towers used at shared sites have physical capacity limits, e.g., weight and wind loading, limiting the number of antennas for use in communicating with remote devices and backhauling for all possible service providers. Moreover, shared cell sites typically have limited space for BTS electronics, and relying upon multiple BTS electronics can raise additional issues with respect to heat dissipation and power supply.
Due to limitations in the physical capacity of the towers and the other aforementioned factors, additional consolidation of cell site equipment at a shared cell site is often desirable.